A woman from New Zealand has spoken about her decision to get a tattoo over the self harm scars visible on her arm.

Cass Maguire, 22, had been thinking about her tattoo for a month before she decided to take the plunge and book an appointment.

'One of the reasons I got the tattoo was to stop myself from doing it, now I don't want to ruin the art work,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

Cass Maguire, 22, had been thinking about her tattoo for a month before she decided to take the plunge and book an appointment at Union Tattoo

A couple of years ago she got her first tattoo which was the quote 'no matter how dark it gets the sun will rise'.

'It got me through some tough stuff and it was something that really inspired me to keep going and get through it all and come out stronger on the other side. I wanted to have something similar for my next tattoo'.

'I was going to get a quote but the tree spoke to me and represented the quote I wanted to get.'

'One of the reasons I got it was to stop myself from doing it, now I don't want to ruin the art work,' she told Daily Mail Australia

Ms Maguire was assigned artist Zoe Emily at Union Tattoo, in Wellington, when she explained what she was wanting to get.

Once Ms Maguire looked the tattoo artist's work she knew that that was the style of tattoo she wanted.

'Zoe Emily designed the whole tattoo. I went in with pictures of trees which the quote "grow through what you go through" represented,' she said.

Ms Maguire said the tattoo acts as a reminder to keep pushing through difficulties and makes her feel more confident as she was ashamed of the scars on her arm.

'I felt uncomfortable with my arm being shown, but it is now a beautiful piece of art and I don't have to hide my arm anymore,' she explained.

'The darkest parts of your life have always got the potential to be beautiful if you choose. My scars, that used to be a shameful reminder of a dark time, is now a beautiful artwork of strength'.

Ms Maguire says the tattoo acts as a reminder to keep pushing through difficulties and makes her feel more confident as she was ashamed of the scars on her arm

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'I was a bit worried when I went it that they would look at my scars and say something. I didn't even mention it but she probably knew. They didn't make it awkward or a big deal,' she explained.

'It didn't feel like something that needed to be brought up, it was like any other tattoo and they didn't ask any questions. She knew she could do it without needing to talk about it'.

'It was good, there was a really good vibe and everyone's so friendly. She did it quickly, it took an hour and a half, it was so quick. I think its so cool what Union Tattoo are doing, it's such a good idea'.

Craigy Lee, 33, is a tattoo artist from Union Tattoo who has said he's always tattooed over dodgy tattoos or those that have been lasered

'We want to make sure people don't feel awkward coming here. It's all about the first step, its a big deal,' he said

Craigy Lee, 33, of Union Tattoo said recently more people been asking for self harm scars to be covered.

'We want to make sure people don't feel awkward coming here. It's all about the first step, its a big deal,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

Mr Lee says you have to work a bit slower and not run the machine as hard when working with scar tissue as it can be more delicate.

'Lots of the time people won't mention they want to cover scarring straight away, it's not necessarily the first thing they say. We don't ask people their story unless they tell us, we don't want it to be an awkward experience.

'When they come in we need to look at how old and how deep the scarring is because tattooing is different on different scars. Everyone's different, the skins different, we have to see what we're working with'.

Mr Lee says you have to work a bit slower and not run the machine as hard when working with scar tissue as it can be more delicate (left and right by Mr Lee)

'When they come in we need to look at how old and how deep the scarring is because tattooing is different on different scars,' he said (tattoo by Zoe Emily)

He says that it doesn't matter what goes over the scarring and it doesn't necessarily need to all be covered.

'People keep thinking they have to cover it all but you don't have to, it doesn't matter. People are captivated by the art so don't always notice the scars'.

Mr Lee puts the increase in customers having scars covered up down to social media and the changing conversations around mental health.

'Social media has a big thing to do with it, as soon as you put a photo up people realise that it can be done and can see whats achievable. Tattoos are being accepted more as an art form now,' he explained.

Mr Lee puts the increase in customers having scars covered up down to social media and the changing conversations around mental health

'Talking about mental illness is becoming more acceptable, people might be feeling more comfortable talking about their scars and may want to make something beautiful out of them'.

He said that the studio is now seeing two or three people a week who want a scar covered up

'Since we've opened the new studio, it's a bit more open and a bit more welcoming so we attract more people and we're open to talk.

'When we opened it we wanted to be a bit different, approachable and welcoming which makes the process easier.'